Things are busy here at our Advertising Agency in San Jose, CA. Imagine what it was like for Designers, Illustrators and Artist back in the great depression. Closest I can come to that vision is the “Dot Com Bomb. And when things get rough, seems like the first to feel it are the artist. The WPA was a great program to help those who needed work.

The program built many public buildings, projects and roads and operated large arts, drama, media and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing and housing. I’ve always heard of the great poster designs produced in stunning silk screen, wood cuts and lithography. I always love the Silkscreen posters. I admire them greatly. I found a great resource online at the LIbrary of Congress. I was delighted to find a 1939 Calendar with whimsical illustrations.

March has to be my favorite design, but they all are great. We can learn a lot by studing the simplicity of these images. Take that knowledge and apply it to our designs.

There is so much design in the world–good and bad. I’m always looking to find great graphic design in history. It is inspiring to see work from the 30s-40-50s and beyond. I recently came across the work of Jim Flora. What a treasure! Lots of album covers from the 50s that are described as mischievous and diabolic. I haven’t decided what my favorite piece is. Jim Flora seemed to have been very prolific. Each design is as captivating as the next. So far I like “Mambo For Cats ” RCA Victor release in 1955. All I can say is “cool man”. Check out other cover designs from that era. Many thanks to jimflora.com for preserving his legacy for all to enjoy.